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In a surprise move, PTI government has replaced Maleeha Lodhi with Munir Akram after Imran Khan’s successful participation at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Munir Akram had previously served as Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN from 2002 to 2008.
Domestic violence scandal of Munir Akram
Munir Akram was involved in an alleged domestic violence incident in 2002 in New York.
A 35-year-old woman, Marijana Mihic, called New York police complaining that she was assaulted. She described herself as Munir Akram’s girlfriend.
According to New York Police, the woman had “bruises to her head and abrasions to her knees.”
Mihic told the police that Akram had bashed her head against a wall.
US then asked Pakistan to lift Akram’s diplomatic immunity so he could be prosecuted according to US law.
That incident surfaced just as Pakistan was taking its place in the Security Council as an elected member. It was also a critical time given that the US was about to invade Iraq and Pakistan was a key U.S. ally in the war on terror.
Akram’s immunity was never revoked and he went on to serve till 2008.
He told the New York Post, “My government sent me here to represent my country. I came to stay – and my government wants me to stay.”
In the era of #MeToo, this appointment did not settle well with Pakistanis and they responded with harsh criticism
Bina Shah, a Pakistani author, wrote that “being a domestic violence perpetrator will not only earn you protection from the government but also not harm your career.”
Twitterati are widely referring to Munir Akram – the replacement of Maleeha Lodhi – as a “girlfriend-basher.”
Read: These Indian Diplomats Had A Bad Day At UNGA & Here’s What Pakistanis Had To Say
Read: PM Imran Khan’s UNGA Speech: Why IK Has Arrived As A Global Leader
What do you think of government replacing Maleeha Lodhi with Munir Akram, a man with a violent past?
